Fate II

CCXI

"Just as we speculated, she's with child again," Kaede said. "She's at least a month pregnant."

Sinbad furrowed his brows, knowing very well which night she got pregnant. He heaved a heavy sigh and banged his head against the Palace wall, glooming, regretting the decision he had made and the fact that he very much acted like a beast in heat whenever it concerned her. He heaved another heavy sigh and cried, troubled by the entire situation. He wanted to fulfill Lucy's wish but, at the same time, he couldn't bear to see her in pain. He turned his head and looked at Kaede.

"Is there a way?"

Kaede stared at him, Sinbad's gaze only focused on Lucy. One could see the concern in his eyes and the stress he was in. To him, she was everything. He didn't want her to go through this torment again for he could still remember that rainy, stormy day when death stood at her bedside, ready to take her away.

"There's a way."

Sinbad's eyes lit up with hope.

"Then-!"

"But, there's a limit to how much pain can be transferred and shared between two people," Kaede narrowed his eyes. "I can transfer the pain that Lucy experiences during her pregnancy and use your magoi to substitute hers but, it's still a majority of her magoi that will be consumed. Since they're naturally drawn to Lucy's magoi given its richness and purity."

With Kaede wording his words in such a way, Sinbad could not help but think of the children Lucy carried to be nothing more than monsters who fed off her flesh and blood. His amber eyes glowed lifelessly and indifferently as he was more than willing to end the life that was dwelling inside of her. It was a thought that had been on his mind since she was pregnant with Sikandar and Masud.

"If you do that, what's the point of asking to transfer the pain?" Kaede asked, knowing full well the intent behind those amber eyes.

His eyes returned to their normal hue as he withdrew his aura.

Kaede sighed. "A child in the body of an adult man."

Sinbad remained silent before speaking up again. "Why does she have to suffer?"

It was a question that riddled their thoughts. A question that they didn't know the answer to and perhaps would never find the answer to. Kaede simply took Sinbad's hand, the rukh fluttering around him as a golden magic circle engraved with multiple smaller layers of circles appeared at the palm of his hand. A golden wreath-like pattern wrapped itself around his wrist before slowly disappearing. He had placed the same spell on Lucy's wrist, making sure that she wouldn't notice for if she did, she could easily figure out the type of magic and, in turn, rewrite the magic circle and break it. With the spell cast that connected the two, all the pain that Lucy was suffering was gathered in the wreath-like design at her wrist and as it did, Sinbad's wrist began to glow. Feeling a pang of nausea, he immediately hunched over and cupped his hand. His face was pale and beads of sweat rolled down his face, his breathing slowly getting heavy as he tried to contain himself.

"I won't mind."

He immediately ran to the bathroom and, crouching down next to the toilet, threw up all the alcohol that he had and all the food that he had eaten. Kaede appeared behind him and looked down at him.

"This was..."

"Yes," Kaede said without batting an eye. "This was the pain that Lucy endured during the seven months since she started feeling the symptoms. Needless to say, the birth itself is far worse."

Sinbad's face paled, unable to imagine how much pain she had to suffer.

"Do you wish to undo it?"